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The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) informed Zest Air it suspended its Air Operator Certificate in a letter Friday.

"This agency is alarmed of Zest Air's series of serious deviations and infractions of the rules and standards prescribed under the Philippine Civil Aviation Regulations (PCAR)," read the letter signed by CAAP deputy general John Andrews. The letter was addressed to juice magnate and Zest Air chairman Alfredo Yao.

"[Your airline is] hereby precluded to engage in air carrier operations, which shall take effect upon receipt of this notice/letter and shall remain in effect until this Authority is assured that the necessary corrective actions and compliance with aviation safety standards [have] been undertaken by your airline," Andrews said.

He also said that upon receipt of the letter, only Zest Air flights bound for Manila would be allowed to fly. All Zest Air flights would be terminated after.

Andrews said Zest Air violated, among others, Subsection 9.2.2.2 (a) of PCAR, which states that: "Each operator shall have an accountable manager… who has corporate authority for ensuring that all flight operations and maintenance activities can be financed and carried out to the highest degree of safety standards."

The other violations were:

Failure to check aircraft bags, flight manifest, weather, etc.

Failure to present an airman license during ramp inspection

Series of occurrences like fuel overflow that affected several flight operations

Refueling with passengers on board

Excessive flight duty time of pilots

The violations were committed within the period January 2012 to August 2013.

The Philippines is working to get upgraded by the US Federal Aviation Authority (US FAA) back to Category 1 status. CAAP said this is the next goal following the decision of the European Union to remove the Philippines from its aviation safety blacklist.

The US FAA upgrade is needed before local carriers can mount additional flights to the US. – Rappler.com

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Welcome to Rappler, a social news network where stories inspire community engagement and digitally fuelled actions for social change. Rappler comes from the root words "rap" (to discuss) + "ripple" (to make waves).